Girls Night Out, Part 3

Girls Night Out, Part Three

The car ride from Zippy’s to my place took barely five minutes. The roads were shiny and reflecting all the surrounding lights due to the light rain that had fallen while we were trying to rid the island of coffee.

The conversation on the way home was fast paced. We started to step on the ends of each other’s sentences. Thankfully, the subject matter was nothing of consequence, just high-speed jibber-jabbering.

We got lucky and found an available parking space right in front of my building. As we got out of the car, Carol was going on and on non-stop about something that she had seen at Wal-mart a couple of days ago. I was only half listening, although I love Wal-mart stories, I was more interested in what I was going to do with this woman once we got upstairs into my apartment.

I showed her in and we both took a seat on the couch and in unison sighed to relive some of the energy that had built up in each of us.

“I don’t really have much of anything to offer you except water. I don’t entertain very much.” I said as we both settled into my futon-turned-couch.

“I’m sure I don’t need anything right now. Maybe some water later.”, she replied hastily.

“I could use one thing”, she said after a moment.

“Okay?”, I answered.

“I need to pee. Some of that coffee wants out”, she said, as she stood up.

I grinned and nodded toward the bathroom as she almost trotted away.

Another deep breath release for me. I suppose I could pee when she’s done, then I can work on plan A some more. Plus, we’ll both have empty bladders, for whatever that might be worth.

“I like your place”, she said as I retuned from the bathroom.

“Thanks. It’s kinda crowded, but that’s because some of the furniture belongs to the apartment and some belongs to me.”, I replied.

“I saw lots of CD’s in that bookcase. Do you mind if I take a look?”, she asked politely.

“Go right ahead. If you see anything you really like, we can play it, or copy it, or whatever.”, I told her as she got up again.

“You have all guy paperbacks, too”, she commented while looking over the CD’s and books on the tall, teak bookshelf.

“I’m all guy”, I replied with a faux question mark in my voice.

She giggled. “I suppose you are.”

“My mom was a big Danielle Steel fan, but I never read any of her stuff. My mom even bought the hardbacks.

“My ex #2 buys the hardbacks of John Grisham’s books.” I tell her.

“I don’t read novels very much. It seems I’m always too busy.”, she confessed nonchalantly.

Ouch, a chink in the armor. I get queasy when I hear people say, “I’m too busy”. It’s become the mantra for today’s over-achieving workaholics. I’ll give her the first one for free, but if it turns into a trend, we may be in trouble.

She had fun looking through my CD collection and picked The Pretenders Greatest Hits CD to listen to. Had she picked almost any other CD, I could have drawn some kind of opinion about her, and her tastes, but The Pretenders, while 80’s and all, are way too “middle of the road” for me to get a read on Carol. I played the CD anyway. I happen to like it, too.

While I was putting the CD into my player, Carol’s cell phone went off. Her ringtone sounded like an old-school phone ringing. Either she’s very much a no nonsense kind of lady, or very technologically challenged. I’m guessing the former.

“I’m gonna be out for a while longer. Do you need anything?”, she said to the caller.

“What did you do tonight?”, she wanted to know.

She was friendly, but not overly friendly with the caller. Obviously someone she knew, but maybe someone she didn’t really want to be bothered by at the moment. The coffee’s making me think too much, I’m thinking.

“Okay, I’ll call you when I leave here.”, she said just before closing her flip-style phone.

“Everything okay?”, I ask her.

She nodded, then answered, “my daughter checking in.”

“As long as she’s okay”, I offered.

More nodding from Carol before she noticed the other bookcase in the room and said, “wow, more books.”

“Pretty much more of the same”, I told her truthfully. More guy stuff. I don’t read Mary Higgins, or Martha Stewart.

Since my vision went south, I don’t really read much at all. Mostly I just write my own stuff. It’s a fun way for me to self-entertain, plus it passes the time nicely.

I opted to not tell her about my stories for now. All my stories are totally clean and inoffensive, but I’m thinking I should save something for next time…if there is a next time.

If she’s not careful, she could end up beint the subject of one of of my “tales from The Crib”.

“You had a paper day-planner, too”, she said in amazement.

“Yeah. One of my all time favorite toys and one of my all time favorite tools. If I could see better, I would still be battling with myself over whether to use a paper day-planner or a computer.”, I replied honestly.

“I try to use the computer, but I need to know more about it”, she confessed.

“What do you want to know more about”, I wondered out loud.

“I have to use Outlook at work, and I think I could probably use it for personal stuff too, but I never have time to sit and dig into it while I’m at work, and I’m never in the mood when I get home”, she said in one long breath. Need to keep her away from the coffee next time.

“If you’re ever in the mood, I can show you whatever you want to know about Outlook”, I volunteered.

“Wow. Really? I’d like that,”, she said, sounding relieved.

“Maybe next weekend sometime?”, she suggested.

“Sure. Anytime.”, I confirmed.

She looked uncomfortable as she tried to adjust herself on my couch, so I said, “Sorry the futon cushion has seen better days. It’s come kinda hard.”

“It’s okay.” She replied, still looking uncomfortable.

“I’m not suggesting anything out of the way, but the bed is way more comfortable, if you’d care to sit or lay there.”, I told her and immediately feeling like I’d totally said the wrong thing.

She cocked her head to one side, looked over the back of the couch to the bed and said, “sure. Sounds good.”

My apartment is a one room studio, so the bed and couch are only about five feet apart with a small desk in between.

I got up from the couch first and offered her my hand as she arose from the couch.

She held onto my hand during the half a dozen steps we took from the couch to the bed.

She crawled in first, leaving the comforter in tact on top of the bed and leaving room for me to join her.

I sat down on the edge of the queen sized bed and asked, “better?”

“Yeah, nice.”, she said with a smile on her face.

After a few minutes of talking, I asked her, “is it okay if I lay down while we talk. My back is kinda tired.”

“Not at all. I was just thinking the same thing”, she answered with a little relaxation in her voice and her movements.

“I feel like a college kid again. I’m thinking, okay she’s in bed with me, now what.”, I told her sheepishly.

She laughed out loud as she answered, “I was waiting for you to try to reach out for me, or roll over on top of me, or something.”

Laughing too, I said, “not the worst idea you’ve had tonight, but I’m not thinking about doing either of those things.”

“I couldn’t make up my mind about what I’d do if you did”, she admitted.

“I’ll spare you the heavy decision making tonight. I’m just enjoying talking and getting to know you better.”, I told her as I gently patted her hand.

“I’m having fun too, and it’s nice to not have to worry, or think about that kind of stuff tonight.”, she said frankly.

“Next time we end up in bed together, we can flip for who jumps on whom first”, I suggest to lighten the moment.

“Deal”, she said with a very nice smile on her face.

The pace of the talking continued to slow for the next hour, or so as the coffee started to wear off.

Finally, she decided to pull the plug on the evening and said, “I really should be getting home”.

“I wasn’t gonna throw you out, but I’m getting a little sleepy myself.”, I told her as I started to slide off the bed.

We made sure we had each others e-mal and cell phone information, then we had a nice extended hug and friendly kiss on the lips before I walked her down to her car. She buckled herself in and drove off into the night, waving as she pulled away.

As I watched her disappear into the pitch black early morning, I was reminded of what Steve Kerr, General Manager of the Phoenix Suns said when he traded for Shaq near the end of the 2007-2008 NBA season. “I’m either going to end up being brilliant, or an idiot because of this”.

Unfortunately, Shaq didn’t have enough left in the tank to be much help for that season, and Phoenix was beaten into an early exit from the playoffs.

I’m hoping for at least a second round with Carol.

Just after returning to my apartment, my cell phone went off. It’s 1:30 in the morning. I check the display and see it’s Carol. so I answer.

“Hello”

“I just wanted to say thank you and let you know I got home okay, and my daughter’s fine”, she said, again all in one breath.

“I had fun too, and thanks for the call. I meant to ask you to do that, but got distracted”, I said laughing softly.

“Good night”, she said.

“G’night”